How do blood sugar and insulin affect my weight and metabolism?

ReBody28 is based on the biochemistry of controlling and maintaining optimal blood sugar balance. By eating clean, blood sugar-balancing foods, we can change the hormonal and inflammatory landscape of the body – unlocking the key to weight loss. This allows us to balance hunger and satiety. Lift our moods and energy. And attain our optimal body composition and weight. 

 

Blood Sugar Basics

The body is constantly trying to maintain blood sugar balance, so it has the energy it needs to function and be vital. When you eat, food gets broken down into glucose (aka sugar in your blood) – some gets used as energy, and the leftovers get stored for future use. Where do they get stored? First in the liver, then in the muscles, and lastly as fat. The liver can store an average of 300 calories, the muscles an average of 1400 calories, and fat can store unlimited calories (yikes). These serve as the storage tanks that our body can dip into for energy.

 

Insulin – Our Fat Storage Hormone

After eating, how does glucose get from your bloodstream to the liver, muscles, and fat cells? Cue insulin, a hormone that’s released from your pancreas in response to blood sugar. Think of insulin as our transport ship. We need insulin, but we also don’t want too much of it. If insulin levels are continuously high (as a result of unbalanced nutrition), our body spends too much time in fat storage and doesn’t have a chance to shift into fat burning mode – because when insulin is in our system it signals our body to store. 

 

Dipping Into Our Energy Tanks – Liver, Muscles, & Fat 

If there is too little glucose in the bloodstream for your energy needs, your body will first dip into your liver stores. The liver can be accessed for any bodily function. The glucose stored in the muscle is a bit different. It can only be used to power one specific bodily function – movement. If you don’t regularly exercise, your muscle tanks will remain full of glucose –  this means that the next time your body shifts into storage mode (aka after a meal), glucose will immediately be stored as fat. Exercise is the only way you can make room for glucose in your muscles; you need to burn it off before you can store it again. The more room you make in your liver and muscles, the less energy that gets stored as fat. 

 

Insulin Resistance and Prolonged Fat Storage Mode

When insulin gets to a muscle cell, it signals the delivery of glucose and the muscle cell readily accepts. However, when insulin is constantly high, muscle cells become desensitized to the effects of it and stop accepting glucose so readily. This is referred to as insulin resistance. Kind of like drinking alcohol – if you drink three glasses a night, one glass will no longer provide that buzz. You keep needing more and more to get the same effect. Likewise, your body needs to release more and more insulin for your muscles to respond. So, since glucose can’t get into muscle cells easily, some of it is converted into fatty acids and stored as fat, and/or it lingers in the bloodstream resulting in elevated insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) that causes other dietary fat to be stored as fat as well. [Side note: eating fat doesn’t make you fat, unless you have too much insulin floating around.] After insulin completes its job, it hangs out in the bloodstream for 6-8 hours. The more insulin you release, the longer it hangs around – and remember, if insulin is roaming around, it tells your body to remain in fat storing mode. 

 

The Key3 Solution

How do we prevent this scenario and stay in fat burning mode more often than fat storing? The answer is to eat meals composed of clean protein, healthy fats, and fibers (The Key3). Protein, fat, and fiber don’t spike your blood sugar or insulin levels – they increase satiety, regulate your hunger hormones, and allow you to spend more time in the fat burning zone. Therefore, all of these essential macronutrients should be included in every meal you eat. They are not just food, they are information to the body. They provide communication on a cellular level and genetic level that you’re being healthily fed, fueled and nourished so you can thrive and feel good. On the other hand, when you eat unbalanced meals with the “not so Key3” (starchy, sugary, carby meals) insulin is high and your body remains in fat storing mode longer. This doesn’t mean that you can’t have “the not so Key3”, but portion sizes and what you combine them with is key. If they are part of the Key3 then you are good to go. 

 

The Crave and Crash Cycle 

Eating too much of the “not so Key3”, sends our body down a persistent crave and crash cycle. Here’s why: carbs breakdown into glucose and quickly raise your blood sugar. What goes up must come down – this subsequent drop of blood sugar while insulin is still in your system usually results in a craving for more carbs. Why? Because eating carbs is the fastest and easiest way to raise your blood sugar back to your brain’s “desired level”. When your body detects this drop in blood sugar (after the spike), your hormones make you crave foods that provide the quickest fix. The reality is that you’re not physically hungry, you are hormonally hungry. We usually can’t tell the difference, and we reach again for a carby option.

 

Timing of Meals for Optimal Fat Burn

Ok, so you see why sticking to the Key3 is important. But what about amounts of food and timing of food? You’ve probably heard that eating every 2 hours can “rev up your metabolism”, however, it’s quite the opposite. Complete digestion of food can take up to 6 hours. When you’re eating every two hours, you don’t allow insulin to be cleared from your bloodstream. And as you now know, more insulin equals more fat storing. Moreover, this taxes your body and can be a drain on your energy levels since digestion is a hefty process. So aim to eat three substantial meals a day that keep you full for at least 4 hours. Let your body digest, let your insulin levels get back to baseline, and then it’s time to re-fuel. 

 

The power of blood sugar balance can not be overstated. Using the KEY3 is how you can achieve it. It’s beautifully simple science.